This page describes things that you can do with Wests and the world wide web. The instructions below show you how to transfer your HTML files (as generated by Wests) to your website. You can also set up Wests to send tips directly to footytips.net where there is a free tipping service available to receive tips for your tipping competition.

Previously, there was a PHP script bundled with Wests that was used to receive tips on your web server and email received tips back to the tipster for confirmation. Due to support issues, the tipping script is no longer available for download, though this arrangement means that there is now less setup and maintenance involved on your part.

Things you must have before you can start:

• An account on the web server with FTP access and space for a web page. Your ISP typically provides this as part of your account.
• The name of the subdirectory on the server where your web site will go. If you don't know, contact your ISP!

Setup checklist:

• Download psftp.exe from this link. psftp is a secure FTP client used to transfer files over the internet. Save it it your Wests directory. Note that it may be illegal for you to download psftp due to cryptography import laws: read more at the psftp download page.
• If you can't download psftp, or don't have access to a secure STP (sFTP) server, then you can use the non-secure FTP program included with Windows. The only difference to you is that you must un-tick the option for using psftp when you save your web pages and transfer them. Note that it is highly recommended that you use psftp if possible! If you don't, then your password for logging into the server will be sent across the internet without being encrypted. A local file containing a list of FTP commands will also contain your unencrypted password, though it will be deleted when you have finished FTP-ing your files.
• Open up your Wests directory in Windows Explorer and run psftp.exe.
• Type: open username@servername
  where username is your login name for the server and servername is the server's host name or IP address
• Enter your password when prompted.
• You should be prompted with a question about host keys not being stored in the cache, answer yes. This will only appear the first time you connect to this server using psftp.
• Type: mkdir subdirname
  where subdirname is the name of the subdirectory where your website will live, typically WWW or www but check with your systems administrator.
• Type: chmod 711 subdirname
  This lets people have access to your web directory, but they can't list the directory contents or make any changes.
• Type: cd subdirname
  This moves you into your newly created subdirectory.
• Type: put index.html
  This places the index.html file saved by Wests (using the Save index file option) into your directory on the server. You only need to transfer this file once. Wests will not transfer this file when it transfers other files because you may have made changes to it that you don't want to be overwritten.
• Type: put style.css
  This will make your tipping web pages look less boring, and will show correct tips in green and incorrect tips in red for easy viewing.

• In the dialog box where you save the HTML files, you will notice four text entry boxes in the bottom half of the window, you need to fill in the details here using the same parameters used above. If the box is ticked, then Wests will securely transfer the newly generated files to that directory on the web server. Note that for security reasons, Wests will not save your server password, you need to enter it each time you transfer files.
• Before the competition starts, and after you have input all fixture and tipster data (well, at least their names), you should generate files for all rounds, and transfer them. This allows tipsters to tip for any round at any time - all the data is on the website.
• After you have entered results for each round, you only need to save and transfer files for that round.

Wests Tipping Software
Version 1.4.4 17/05/2008 (Version history)
Wests © 2003-8 Daniel Wedge, footytips.net
Email: support(at)footytips.net (do the obvious thing)